Sigma 30mm F/1.4 or Canon EF 28mm f/1.8?

<p>Hi, I have been making photo's on (indoor) party's and events for over a year now with my canon 550d with the 18-135mm lens and my 480EXII speedlight flash and getting okay results, but now i'd like to get a new lens. I have been considering the canon 28mm 1.8 as well as the sigma 30mm 1.4. I'd like either of these to be able to catch some more ambient light, and a nice bokeh. also the wide shot is very important to me. <strong>Which should I choose?!</strong><br>

TY</p>

<p>To be honest, it doesn't really matter much. Both will be better than your zoom in terms of background blur and either one will be just fine.</p>

<p>On paper the Sigma lens should give you a 2/3 stop speed advantage, so if low light shooting is your primary goal, I'd probably go with that. Note though that it's a for crop sensor cameras only. The Canon 28/1.8 will also be fine on full frame sensor cameras, but if you never intend to buy a full frame DSLR, that's not a factor.</p>

<p>You might also consider the Canon 50/1.8 if you don't mind the narrower angle of view. It's an excellent portrait lens for crop sensor Canon DSLRs. It's also cheap!</p>

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Note that none of the lenses you are considering has image stabilization, like your 18-135 does. That means you'll want to keep the shutter speed at maybe 1/50s or faster if you want sharp images. For static subjects you'd probably be able to shoot your zoom with image stabilization at 30mm and a shutter speed of maybe 1/6s, so you wouldn't really gain any low light capability with the prime. If your subject is moving then obviously the faster shutter speed with the unstabilized prime lens will give better results.

<p>Thanks a bunch, One question left, since I can't really find it anywhere, is there a difference in the angle of view between the two?<br /> There are dreams for a FF camera but I'm only 18 so let's get through college first hahaha.</p>

<p>About the lack of IS, does that minimum 1/50 shutter speed for sharp images count if you use flash as well? or can you go slower with flash?</p>

<p>The 28 will have a slightly wider field of view, but the difference is very small.</p>

<p>With flash you don't have to worry about shutter speed in most program modes since it will be set to somewhere between 1/60s and 1/200s, but if the flash is doing all the work the actual flash speed is much faster than that. Often 1/1000s or faster.</p>

<p>If you try to combine ambient light exposure with flash, then the shutter speed may matter for the ambient light part of the exposure</p>

<p>Another point to consider regarding max shutter speed (as well as max iso, which will also affect max shutter speed) is how big the final image will be. If you're just making small prints or just putting your shots on the web then you can get away with 1/25 sec or possibly even less.</p>

<p>28mm and 30mm aren't particularly wide on your camera, but a fast, wide prime is going to be expensive.</p>

<p>I have both the 28 and 30 you mention, and I really like the 30. It's a super lens, and they just came out with an updated version, which is likely to be even nicer.</p>

 

<p>I have a Sigma 30mm F/1.4 and I like it, great lens. Keep in mind at F/1.4 the depth of field is very narrow, the closer the subject even more so, but you can always increase the F stop and it's great to have the F/1.4 when you want it. Just a matter of working with the lens a bit, to get used to it.</p>

<p>Sigma just discontinued the old version of this lens and gave an in store rebate, brought the price down to $280 and the lenses were flying off the shelf last month. My local shops were sold out of the Canon version, the one shop had one Nikon version left a few weeks back, they had a flawless used Canon version and let me have it for $220. I lucked out. For a crop sensor camera like my 7D, it is close to being as wide as a 50mm on a full frame sensor.</p>

<p>I also have the 50mm F/1.4 Sigma, both great lenses. In my opinion, Sigma makes great lenses.</p>